Free Java protest merchandise

Show your support for an 'independent' Java and stick it to Larry Ellison

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Java creator James Gosling's campaign for a "free" Java has a new twist: campaign T-shirts, coffee mugs, buttons, and a refrigerator magnet. Arriving just in time for Oracle OpenWorld and JavaOne, the swag, designed by Gosling himself and for sale at CafePress.com, allows you to express your support for an independent and vendor-neutral Java standards process at a price and pitch that suits you. Fight the power!

1. Free Java button

For just $2.99, this button tells everyone you meet that you're concerned about the fate of Java under Oracle's stewardship. For $3.79, a twin rectangular magnet alerts visitors to your refrigerator to the cause.

2. Free Java coffee mug

Of course, what better way to show your support for Java than a coffee mug? Whenever you take a sip of Joe, you'll be saluting Duke's struggle. Only $12.09 for the regular size, or $13.19 for the big 15-ouncer.

3. Free Java plain T

For just a few dollars more, you can show greater commitment with the "Free Java" T-shirt ($19.49). If you're style conscious or environmentally sensitive, choose the organic, fitted T for men or women ($24.99). No Java lover's wardrobe is complete without one.

4. Free Java 'Edgy' T

Looking to turn it up a notch? The "Edgy" T ($16.99), designed for the most ardent Java freedom fighter, puts Larry Ellison's face at the receiving end of Duke's hammer. Remember Apple's "1984" commercial? This time it's personal.

5. Oracle's 'pledge'

Each "Free Java" T-shirt has the full text of "Resolution 1" printed on the back. Resolution 1? It's a proposal that Oracle put forward at a December 2007 meeting of the Java Community Process Executive Committee.

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At the meeting, Resolution 1 was approved by all members of the JCP Executive Committee except Eclipse and SAS, which were absent, and Sun, which abstained. So it's a shoe-in, right?

As Gosling himself likes to say, "That was then, this is now." In an August 8 blog post on Oracle and the future of the JCP, Gosling wrote: "This resolution in 2007 was all part of a control game played by Oracle, no high-minded principles involved at all. Now that they have a different point of view, it's clear that this resolution being honored is about as likely as pigs growing wings."